


Strange Journeys

by baudelamps



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types, Rocky Horror Picture Show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 13:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12133245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baudelamps/pseuds/baudelamps
Summary: When Ranka lends the Host Club a copy of the Rocky Horror Picture Show for their monthly movie night, Tamaki is inspired.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is a fanfiction that heavily involves the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which is a great movie, but also one that is problematic in a lot of ways! If you are going to read this fic, I would appreciate it if you would read my note at the end of the last chapter when you're done, because when celebrating things like Rocky Horror, it's really important to recognize why they're problematic, too. Thank you! Enjoy :)

Hikaru and Kaoru looked on disdainfully as Tamaki pressed the tape into the VHS player. "Where did you find that relic?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, something that old belongs in a dump," said Hikaru.

"I think it's jammed," Tamaki murmured. "The machine doesn't want to accept the tape."

"Tamaki and I found the VCR in his storage room," Kyoya said. "Are you sure that the tape isn't upside down? There should be an arrow to show which side goes in."

"We spent hours searching, but it finally paid off!" Tamaki said, rising triumphantly. A wave of static crashed over the screen and was replaced almost immediately by the image of a woman sipping from a canteen of coffee. _I work hard every day, so I make sure that my instant coffee does, too,_ intoned a voiceover. The Hescafe logo blazed on the screen.

"Commoner's coffee? But I thought this was a movie," whined Kaoru.

"Could Ranka have given me the wrong tape?" Tamaki wondered.

"He probably just recorded it when it was playing on cable one day. Part of the reason why film companies began producing DVDs was that tapes made it too easy to record bootlegs," Kyoya said.

"We've got the snacks!" Honey pranced in ahead of Mori, who was carrying two bowls of steaming popcorn. They joined the others on the sofa, and another commercial played out. Then the screen went blue, and white text proclaimed that the movie they had gathered to watch would start soon. A deep voice emanated from the speakers: _Up next, the world's most popular Science Fiction Double Feature, complete with everyone's favorite Sweet Transvestites and Superheroes! It's the Rocky Horror Picture Show!_

"Horror? I thought it was a musical," said Honey. There was an edge of worry to his voice.

"It is," Mori assured him. It was the first time they had heard him speak all day.

"I think it's starting. Someone turn off the lights!" said Tamaki.

"Do it yourself," said Hikaru. Tamaki groaned, but got up anyway. When he reclaimed his spot on the sofa, a pair of bright red lips were singing in a clear, dreamy voice.

"Is this the movie?" he asked.

"It's just the opening credits, but it is a little unsettling," said Hikaru.

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "Why would Haruhi's dad want us to watch something like this?"

"He said that it's an important movie for people who are learning about relationships and sexuality and stuff. Too bad Haruhi's missing it. I looked online, and it's supposed to be a classic." Tamaki couldn't tear his eyes from the screen.

"I think you mean cult classic," corrected Kyoya.

"What's the difference?"

"Cult classics like the Rocky Horror Picture Show aren't always popular with society as a whole, but they tend to be exceedingly popular with select groups of people. I haven't seen this film, but according to my research, it's a big hit with a lot of different subcultures, especially Queer Pride groups."

"Huh." Tamaki sat back and let the credits wash over him. They faded into an image of a church, with people gathered outside after a wedding. A woman in a pink hat caught the bouquet, and the bride and groom drove off in a sedan that was decorated with shaving cream.

"What did it say on the car door? I missed it," someone said.

"'Just wait until tonight, she got hers, now he'll get his,'" Tamaki recited. The wedding party dissipated, and a young couple broke off and began to amble through the little churchyard cemetery. There was a flutter of violins and the next song began.

"He's confessing his love by cursing at her in a graveyard. Isn't that a little bit backwards?" one of the twins asked.

"She doesn't seem to mind," said the other.

"If you shady twins don't stop with the commentary, I will disband our monthly movie nights," Tamaki threatened. The song faded out and a man with a face like an avalanche appeared. _I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey,_ the man began. He introduced the hero and heroine, and Honey interrupted him.

"Why is he talking about them like they're dead? Does something bad happen?" He grabbed Mori's arm for support.

"We'll just have to wait and see," said Tamaki.

And they saw. They saw Brad and Janet's car break down, and they saw Riff-Raff and Magenta welcome them to the dilapidated castle. They saw the party guests dance the time warp (Tamaki had to hush a flabergasted interjection from Hikaru). They saw Janet faint dead away when the pale face appeared in the elevator, and Kyoya saw Tamaki blush when Dr. Frank N. Furter threw off his cloak to reveal his corset and fishnets. They saw Frank's delight at Rocky's birth and Columbia's elation at Eddie's awakening. A kind of horrified fascination settled over them while they watched Frank take an axe to Eddie, and it dissolved into disbelief when they saw him shed his bloody lab dress and carry on like nothing had happened. They saw Brad and Janet separated and seduced. They saw Rocky tormented and chased by dogs, and they watched Janet insinuate herself into his little gold shorts. By the time that Dr. Scott arrived at the castle, no one was quite sure what they were seeing at all, but when Frank tore the cloth off of the table in the dining room, they were all certain that they were looking at Eddie's mangled corpse. They saw the heroes turned into statues and slathered in face paint and wrapped in corsets and feather boas. When the floor show began, they could hardly tear their eyes away. They saw legs. They saw stiletto heels and leather underwear and makeup smearing off of faces in a crowded swimming pool. They saw Columbia die. They saw Frank die. They saw Rocky fall to his death, still clinging to his creator's shattered corpse. They saw Brad and Janet and Dr. Scott flee the castle as it lifted from the ground and flew to a distant planet, and the little blue globe that burned on the screen before fading to black.

The end credits began to roll.

"I'm sorry, did any of that make sense to anyone?" asked Hikaru, standing up to stretch his back.

"Should Honey-sempai have even watched that?" asked Kaoru.

"He didn't," said Mori. Honey yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had fallen asleep clinging to Mori's arm.

"Is it over?" He asked.

"Sorry, Honey-sempai, looks like you slept through another one," laughed Hikaru.

"What did you think of the movie, Tamaki?" The rest of the group went silent at Kyoya's question. Their king had not yet spoken.

"I'm not too sure," he said. "The music was good, and the plot was very interesting, but I think I need to watch it again before I can make much sense of it."

"A hundred viewings wouldn't help that madness become clear," said Hikaru.

"It was certainly entertaining, at any rate," Kaoru said. 

"You've seen it before, haven't you, Mori-semapi?" asked Kyoya. "Does it make more sense the second time around?"

Mori nodded, but didn't seem inclined to go into detail.

"What time is it? We should probably get going, shouldn't we, Takashi?" asked Honey. He was still mostly asleep.

"Yeah," said Mori. "Thanks for having us over, Tamaki." He hoisted Honey onto his shoulders and walked out.

"Us too, our driver is probably waiting. Thanks for hosting, Tamaki," said the twins.

"Thanks for coming. Hey, what should we watch next time?"

"I'm sorry, my brain's too full of whatever that was for me to start debating the pros and cons of another Meg Ryan movie," Hikaru yawned.

"We can figure it out at school on Monday. Have a good weekend, Boss." The twins followed Honey and Mori out of the room and out of the house.

"There are no cons to another Meg Ryan movie. You're staying over, right Kyoya? I can ask Shima to set up a guest bed in my room if you are."

"Yeah, thanks," Kyoya replied, but he seemed preoccupied. 

"Hey, what did you think of the movie? You're the only one who didn't comment."

"It was certainly interesting," he said over steepled fingers, "but I think you're right. I'd need to watch it again before forming any real opinions. There is one thing I don't understand though."

"Really? What's that?" Tamaki asked. He hit rewind on the VHS player and put one empty popcorn bowl inside of the other.

"Why would Ranka would want us to watch it. He's always trying to encourage people to respect transgenderism, nonconforming genders, and varied gender presentation, but this presents gender divergence as being literally otherworldly, and even deadly. It's strange that this is a film he'd promote."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I think it presented the couple as being the danger. They kind of disrupted Frank's utopia. It seemed like they only got hurt because they were treating it like a game." He yawned. "I think I have to sleep on it. Do you want to go upstairs?"

"Lead the way," Kyoya said. He and Tamaki went up to the second floor.

The boys got ready for bed. Tamaki had a set of Kyoya's pajamas in his bureau, both because he had forgotten to take them with him when he left one morning, and because he stayed over often enough for it to make sense. Shima came upstairs with a few housekeepers to set up a cot.

"Ootori-san, if you would prefer to sleep in one of the guest rooms, there's one right down the hallway and the bed is already made up," she said.

"That's fine, Shima. We don't mind bunking together," said Tamaki as he took a hairbrush from his vanity. Shima looked at Kyoya.

"Thank you, Shima. I appreciate the offer, but I'd prefer to stay in here."

"Of course," she replied. "Sleep well." She paused before closing the door. "Tamaki," she said.

"Hm?" He was still preoccupied at the vanity, splashing face wash onto a cotton square.

"Behave." He looked up, startled, as she shut the door behind her.

"Don't I always?" he said, and wiped his face clean.


	2. Chapter 2

Tamaki was reeling with excitement. He pressed his lips together to make sure that they were evenly painted, and then stepped back to admire himself in the mirror. The black corset gripped his waist, stopping just above his hip bones. He turned sideways, admired the way the black leather panties squeezed his butt cheeks, and checked to make sure that the run in his tights hasn't grown too much. The rhinestoned pumps were doing wonders for his calves. He looked the part. He looked perfect. Tonight, for one night only, the Ouran High School Host Club was putting on a very special performance.

It hadn't been easy to cast, what with Haruhi's initial refusal to participate and the twins getting up to their usual hijinks, and twice Kyoya had tried to convince him to quit. But Tamaki Suoh would not give up so easily.

"Are you going to wear the wig, Tamaki?" Kyoya asked from his chair in the corner. He was calculating the profit from their ticket sales. The show wouldn't start for another half hour and already they had made back double what Tamaki had spent on wardrobes and makeup.

"I'm not sure," Tamaki replied. "I'm all for authenticity, but black curls really don't suit me. Even with all this makeup, I'm not sure if I could pull it off." His doubts were punctuated by Honey, who burst into the prep room with Mori close behind. They were in identical black suits with sequined cravats. 

"Wow, Tama-chan! You look just like in the movie!" Honey squealed.

"Why, thank you!" Tamaki replied, turning from the mirror. "You two look quite the pair. Do you have all your lines memorized, Honey-sempai?"

"Yeah," Honey answered. "Takashi has his line memorized too. Right, Takashi?"

"Yeah," said Mori. The twins were the next two to come through the door.

"Boss, you can't make Kaoru wear that ridiculous wig and refuse to wear your own," said Hikaru hotly.

"I already told you, I don't mind it," said Kaoru from under his mass of auburn curls.

"I don't understand why you couldn't have just rewrite it to make us both be Riff-Raff. You split the Criminologist into two people for Honey and Mori. I don't see why you couldn't make Magenta a guy." He threw himself into a chair and glowered.

"Hikaru, it's fine," Kaoru laughed, pushing curls out of his face. "I really don't mind." Hikaru grunted noncommittally and picked at the fraying hem of his fingerless gloves.

"Isn't this exciting? I almost can't remember the last time we put on a big production like this," Tamaki said.

"It was certainly before Haruhi's time with us," said Kyoya.

"Where is Haruhi, anyway?" Asked Hikaru.

"I'm not sure. I told her that she could just change behind a curtain, but she insisted on taking her costume to the bathroom. She should be back by now."

"Gee, I wonder why she wouldn't want to change in here with you," the twins intoned.

"I'm just glad that she convinced Bossanoda to participate. Is he here yet?"

"We saw him outside," said Honey. "He forgot his jacket. He said that Tetsuya is going to drop it off for him."

"What about our Brad and Janet?"

"They're back stage. Rengeii's helping them get into character," Kyoya said.

Tamaki smiled. "Thank goodness for Rengeii. She certainly does make a good casting director. I wonder how she got Momoka and Kazukiyo to participate." Hikaru and Kaoru exchanged glances.

"Rengeii had nothing to do with it," said Kaoru. "Momoka joined because Haruhi's in it."

"And Kazukiyo joined because Momoka wanted him to," Hikaru finished.

"This is shaping up to be an excellent show, gentlemen," Tamaki said. "Kyoya, is the house filled?"

"Very nearly," Kyoya said from behind his clip board.

"It's not too late to get you into costume," wheedled Tamaki.

"Yes it is," the club said in unison.

"I already told you, we can't have two Rockies. It wouldn't make sense. Besides, would you really want me to take away Haruhi's moment in the spotlight?"

"Good point!" said Tamaki. "What's taking her so long, anyway?"

"We can go check on her," the twins said, grinning like foxes.

"You two aren't getting anywhere near her tonight! I want this show to be perfect!" Tamaki turned back to the mirror and adjusted the laces on his corset. "The last thing we need is for you shady twins to upset our leading lady."

"You do know that they have scenes together, don't you, Tamaki?" asked Kyoya. Tamaki turned around to say that of course he did, but before he could get the words out, Haruhi burst into the room, fully clothed in her Ouran Academy uniform, a spandex gold leotard hanging from her fist.

"No way am I going out there in this! You have got to be out of your minds!"

Kyoya had been ready for this. "It's like a swimsuit, Haruhi. Are more people really going to see you today than would see you in your swimsuit at the beach?"

"Oh, no. This is different. In a swimsuit I'm not on stage. In a swimsuit the only people staring at me are those perverts!" she shouted, gesturing at Tamaki and the twins.

"Then think of it as a leotard. Ballerinas go up on stage in leotards all the time."

"Ballerinas wear tights," Haruhi retorted, but her ire was slipping.

Kyoya looked at Tamaki. "Did you not give her the tights?"

Tamaki looked at the twins, then back at Kyoya, and blushed.

"Those two said--" he began, but Kyoya wouldn't let him finish.

"You three are buffoons. We don't have time for this. Curtain is in 15 minutes. Haruhi, there should be tights in one of the garment bags over there."

"I'll help you look, Haru-chan!" said Honey. He skipped over to the bags, leaving Haruhi sputtering next to Kyoya. She knew he was right, but still, it was the principle of the thing!

"Are you really going to let all of the rehearsals we had go to waste?" Kyoya asked her.

"Ugh. Fine. This is going to cut my debt, right?" she asked.

"Yes, yes," said Kyoya, returning his attention to his clipboard. "Now please go get changed. We're really cutting it close." Haruhi retrieved her tights from Honey and stalked off to the bathroom, grumbling. She came back five minutes later, glittering in her gold leotard, and flushing with embarrassment.

Tamaki felt the color rise in his face. "You look so cute!" he squealed.

"Will you please get a hold of yourself! We're going on stage in ten minutes!" Haruhi bellowed.

"What's the matter, Haru-chan? You seem really on edge," Honey asked.

"I guess it's just pre-show jitters," she replied, taking a breath. "I'm not used to performing in front of people."

"Don't worry! You'll do great! Won't she, Takashi?"

Mori smiled at Haruhi. "Yeah," he said.

Tamaki tore his eyes from Haruhi's shiny spandex and cleared his throat. "Well now. Shouldn't we start getting backstage?" he asked.

"Bossanoda should be here any minute," said Kyoya. We should probably wait for him before relocating."

Just then, Bossanoda walked into the prep room. "Hey, Suoh," he said, "I've been looking at the script, and I'm a little confused. Do I actually have to play saxophone? I got my motorbike all set up backstage so that part shouldn't be a problem, but--" He looked up from his script for the first time and saw Haruhi, and all of a sudden, his mouth was dry. "Oh, uh, hey, Fujioka," he said. Tamaki bristled.

"No! You don't actually need to play saxophone, that's the part in the song when we're doing the dance, remember?" Tamaki responded. He stepped between Bossanoda and Haruhi.

"Oh, uh, right." He leaned to the side to look over Tamaki's shoulder.

"I have a feeling Tamaki's going to have a bigger problem with your costume than you do," Kyoya whispered to her.

"Whatever," she grumbled.

"Why don't you go backstage? We're all about to head over there too," Tamaki said to Bossanoda, ushering him back to the door.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

After Tamaki found a sheet to wrap Haruhi in, and Hikaru argued about Kaoru's wig a little more, and Honey ate a good-luck cupcake, the club met Bossanoda, Momoka, Kazukiyo, and Rengeii backstage.

"Hi Haruhi," said Momoka, winking.

"Hi, Momoka," she replied. "Hey Kazukiyo."

"Hey, Fujioka."

"Hey! Cut the small talk," Rengeii hissed. "There's a full house out there! They can probably hear everything that's happening back here."

"Rengeii's right," Tamaki agreed. "So quiet down and listen up!" He waited until he had everyone's attention, and then smiled radiantly under his makeup. "This is Haruhi's first performance as a member of the host club! It's also a very iconic musical, and we practiced very hard. So we're going to get out there, and put on an amazing show!"

"Is everyone ready?" Kyoya asked. The cast members all looked around at each other, and smiled. Tamaki nodded. Kyoya reached up to the light board and dimmed the house lights, and then switched on a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Ouran High School Host Club is proud to present the Rocky Horror Picture Show."

The house lights went black. There was a dead silence in the theater. Shoes clicked on the stage as actors took their places. A spotlight lit up Honey and Mori in their identical suits.

"We would like, if we may, to take you on a strange journey," Honey said. In the wings, Tamaki shivered with antici--


	3. Chapter 3

"Tamaki, wake up," someone was saying. "It's 9:30, Shima's already started on breakfast."

"What?" Tamaki asked, opening his eyes. Kyoya was folding up the cot bedding. 

"Come on, wake up." 

Tamaki sat up in his bed. "I had the most amazing dream," he said, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Special thanks to my friends Jackie, Ash, and Tia for reminding me of stuff like the way Bossanoda addresses people so I didn't have to rewatch Ouran, because let's be honest, you can't just watch one episode. 
> 
> I wrote this fic a few years ago when I first watched Ouran and started questioning my gender. Haruhi Fujioka and Dr. Frank-N-Furter are very formative figures for me! This is a brief summary of my relationship with/understanding of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, because I know that this movie is super problematic, and if we're going to celebrate it, we owe it to the queer community to address what's wrong with it as well.
> 
> The Rocky Horror Picture Show has very close to my heart since I first saw it at the tender age of 14, but a few years ago when I first started learning more about gender and transness the binary, my relationship with the movie started to change. How can such an amazing film, a true masterpiece of cinema, so effectively demonize queerness? To make no bones about it, Dr. Frank is a terrible person! He abuses and murders people! How could the queer community let him become such a huge icon? Why did I identify so strongly with his gender presentation??? Was I -gasp- a Bad Queer???? The answer is, of course identifying with something can't make someone a bad queer, this movie was made decades ago, before 'transvestite' was a slur, back when presenting as anything other than a heterosexual cisgender person was a seemingly unbreakable taboo, back when any representation was good representation. But why should I still watch it, knowing that there are other movies with better representations? Easy! Because I like this movie, in spite of how awful it is! So, in trying to reconcile my understanding of gender with a beloved yet problematic movie, I started dissecting it more, and my understanding changed. What we know of Frank is that he comes from a planet where queerness, regarding both sexuality and gender, is the norm. It's a planet that, because of his crimes, he can't return to. It's a planet that doesn't want an abusive murderer like Frank. So, while it's valid to say "The Rocky Horror Picture Show demonizes queer people," I figure that it's also valid to say "The Rocky Horror Picture Show celebrates a queer community that won't tolerate abusive behavior." I could write an entire dissertation on this if I really felt like it (I have a lot to say about Brad and Janet's heteronormativity being a poison, and don't even get me started on visual symbolism, there's just so much to unpack), but what I'm saying is, this movie is incredibly complex. It is incredibly problematic, and absolutely should not be used as an umbrella model for what queerness looks like, because it's easy to read it as a statement that queer people are vile and abusive. But it's also a really important film in a lot of people's self-discovery process. As a genderqueer person who wants to make sure that my fellow trans and gender nonconforming people are comfortable, I wanted to address that.
> 
> I also want to address that Ouran High School Host Club, while being an amazing show that celebrates gender diversity, also uses slurs to refer to characters!!!!!!! They should have known better!!!!!!!!!! Do better, Funimation. (And while I'm at it, DO BETTER, THE ENTIRE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
> 
> If I said anything here that you find insensitive or problematic or offensive in any way, please let me know! Let's have a conversation.


End file.
